Taxes influence behavior. When you tax cigarettes and alcohol, people are less likely to buy them. When you tax property and buildings, people are less likely to invest in improving current properties and developing new ones. This leads to run-down buildings, empty lots and underutilized… Read More »How Land Value Taxes Could Promote Fairer Taxes
In recent years, economic inequality has increased along with housing costs, inflation and mass layoffs, all of which have significantly impacted the economic well-being of individuals worldwide. These have led to a plethora of negative outcomes including the rise of homelessness and the share of… Read More »Exploring Universal Basic Income and Its Implementation
This is the second piece in an ongoing series that examines the role that control of land has played in racial injustice throughout Black history in the United States: Part 1: Slaveholders and Land Monopoly (1619 to 1865)Part 2: 40 Acres and a Ghoul (1865… Read More »Land & Racial Injustice – Part 2: 40 Acres and a Ghoul (1865 to 1910)
At the dawn of 2024, Colorado residents have property taxes on their minds. That’s because county assessors across the state have increased property values significantly — around 40% in El Paso and Pueblo counties, between 35% and 45% in metro Denver counties, and from 40%… Read More »Land Value Tax Promoted by Colorado Governor Gets Attention by Commission
Forty-five years after the passage of Prop 13, property tax reformers on all sides prepare for another battle in 2024. Protecting your home—and the loved ones in it—touches primal instincts in all humans. So, it’s perhaps no wonder that California voters in the 1970s overwhelmingly… Read More »California Prop 13 Faces New Challengers in 2024 and Tough Questions of Equity
Exploring the criticisms of Detroit’s Land Value Tax Plan: Do they have merit? Detroit’s Land Value Tax (LVT) plan has generated considerable discussion within the City and beyond. Many support the plan for its potential to transform Detroit’s tax system, promote development, and provide tax… Read More »Addressing Common Concerns and Building Support for Detroit’s Land Value Tax Plan
Detroit, like many urban centers, faces the challenge of balancing the need for steady, predictable tax revenues with the desire to promote economic growth and equitable development. The Land Value Tax (LVT) plan proposed by Mayor Duggan seeks to address these challenges head-on. Drawing upon… Read More »Anticipating the Impact: Detroit’s Land Value Tax Implementation
Detroit’s current tax system has long been a subject of criticism, with homeowners burdened by some of the highest property taxes in Michigan. Paradoxically, because land values are low, the owners of the City’s many abandoned buildings, scrap yards, and parking lots face low taxes,… Read More »Detroit’s Land Value Tax Plan: A Game Changer for Tax Bills
Building on the lessons of the roughly 20 Pennsylvania municipalities and school districts that have made use of Land Value Taxes (LVT), Detroit’s Mayor Duggan introduced a proposal to bring the policy to his City in May 2023, during the Mackinac Policy Conference. This plan,… Read More »Exploring Detroit’s Land Value Tax Plan: A Revenue-Neutral Approach
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s plan to implement a Land Value Tax continues moving forward, albeit with a new timeline. Since May 31, when Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan unveiled a plan to introduce a Land Value Tax, Michigan tongues have been wagging furiously. Declaring the current… Read More »Land Value Tax plan takes shape in Detroit, as negotiations continue
